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- 1 1927. March w. SCHOENKE APPLIAN E ma momma mm sron'r Filed Oct. 8, 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 -.m. mm mm MN 3% W. SCHOENKE APPLIANCE FOR PRACTICING RIDING SPORT Filed Qgt, 8, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig.3.

March. 1927' w. SCHOENKE APPLIANCE FOR PRACTiCING RIDING SPORT Filed on, e, 1925 4 Sheets-Shei 4 Patented Mar. 1, W27.

WALTER SGHOENKE, OF LICHTERFELDE, NEAR BERLIN, GERMANY.

APPLIANCE FOR PRACTICING RIDING SPORT.

Application filed October 8, 1925, Serial No. 61,272, and in Germany April 1, 1924.

This invention relates to an appliance for practicing riding sport and consists essentially therein, that legs, which may be spread apart, are being kept in nonspreaded condition by means of one or more springs, at a time when the weight of the rider is not acting upon the appliance by the seating position'of the rider while at least one of the said springs is provided so as to act upon the legs at such points, that in inoperative position of the appliance, that is in non spreaded position of the legs, the lever arm on which said spring is acting will be small. In the operative position of the appliance, that is when the legs arespreaded, the arm of the lever will attain approximately its maximum value. Advantageously the spring is made to have such a preliminary tension, that it keeps not only the appliance in nonspreaded condition against the weights of the animal body and that of the rider, but is in addition to this so strong that it will be enabled to also carry the legs back into their non-spreaded condition during obstacles arising upon the road. spreaded position will be designatedin the following as normal position, while the spreaded position of the legs is designated as such.

The action of the afore-mentioned spring exerted in this manner may also be supplemented by pulling means actuated by the stirrup, said means having the tendency in this case to bring the appliance back into its normal position by act-ion of the weight of the rider when imposed upon the stirrup. Especial constructions of the means, which transmit the forces exerted upon the stirrup to the appliance, will be mentioned further below. The same applies to the special means provided according to this invention for bringing the appliance into its normal position, which means may be actuated by the rider by means of the reins.

The weight of the rider which is imposed upon the saddle is utilized according to this invention in an especial manner for bringing the legs into their spreaded position, and more particularly also against a very strong pull of the spring tending to bring the appliance into its normal position. By means of especially provided oblique surfaces, which may also be of curved contorination, there may be attained, that at first the upper ends of the legs will. considerably approach each other during .imposing the The nonweight of the rider upon the saddle, while the acceleration of the contracting motion may be gradually diminished by properly forming the surfaces which cause said contracting motion. The especial construction of the saddle of the appliance, which is destined to take up the weight of the rider, as

well as the connectionof these parts with the other parts of the appliance are further features of this invention, and are more fully described as the specification proceeds.

The pressure, which is exerted by the saddle, according to a further teatureoi this invention, may also be utilized for the purpose of rotating one or both of the rear run ning wheels during spreading of the legs in the direction of travel. A guiding or steering device, which is actuated by the reins for steering the front running wheel or wheels, as well as an arrangement serving for keeping the steering axis of the front runningwheel always more or less in perpendicular position, form also part of .this invention. In the specification there are further described some additional features of the' invention.

In the drawings an example of a constructionaccording to'this invention is shown;

in the drawings Fig. 1 represents an appliance according to this invention in a side View, partly in section,

Figs. 1 and 1 are diagrammatic representations of the condition of the levers forming part of the appliance, said levers being shown in two working positions, of the latter, I

Fig- 2 is a front leg of the appliance to gether with the running wheel provided thereon, the steering device according to Fig. 1 being separately represented,

Fig. 2 represents another position of the leg according to Fig. 2,

Fig. 3 is a top view, V

Fig. 4; a front view of the steering device for the front running wheel, I

Fig. 5 a top view taken on the rear running axle, and

Fig. 6 shows the connection between the rear legs and several details of the driving mechanism.

In the drawings, 1 designates a frontleg, which is pivotally mounted upon a frame 2, said leg acting as a double lever, the frame 2 constituting a carrier therefor. The frame 2 furthermore serves as a carrier for the point 7 of the rear leg.

rear leg; 4:, which is pivoted at thepoint 5 to said frame, saidrear leg acting thus as a single lever. leg 1 is positively Connected with. the. rear leg 4 by means of'a connecting rod 8, which is pivotally' mountedat the points 6 and 7, so that the motion of the one leg will be transmitted to: the. other in the manner ot a reversed parallelogram. 9 is a spring, which is connected by means of a fl'exihle connecting member 10 by way of a roller 11 mounted upon the frame 2, with the point 6 at the upper'part of the i 'ront leg. The other. end of the spring 9 is connected at the point 12 to a lever 13. while the other end of said lever is pivota'llymounted at the point 5,- in addition to this the spring 9 at the end 1-2 thereof is kept under tension by an adjustable tension device 14, which latter at the end opposite to the point of'connection with the sprin'g9 is: fastened tothe By this tension: de vice 14: a strong" preliminary tension may be imparted to the spring 9 and enablesaid spring to be. easily inserted. Fastened to the point 6, which is positioned at the upper/end ofthe front leg 1, i'sa flhxihle tensioning 0r pull-transmitting means, such as astr-iiig or cable 15, which is carried around a roller161 mounted on the frame 2 and C0'11 'nectedat its other end with the holder or thereof the point of rotation of the stirrup is positioned very farat the t'ront of the animal body; The part of the holder 17 for the stirrup, which extends from the point 3 towards the rear will thus act as. a single armed lever carrying about in its center the point of engagement of the cable or string 15. A pressure exerted upon the stirrup will therefore very effectively serve to augment the action of the spring 9' in carrying the legs back into their normal position.

As will easily be, seen from liigs. l 'and 1" the lever action. exerted by the spring 9upon the upper end of the leg, will be equal to (1/, that is to say it. will have a relatively small value. while the lever action (hiring. spread ed condition of the legs; will be equal to Z), that isthe said lever action wi'llhave a maximum value. It may further be notedl. that the. legs may be positioned perpendicularly to the animal body, corresponding totheir normal or natural position during standing at rest of the animal; For the rear legs the lever arm, by means of which the spring 9 will exert its action,,w.ill be equal to 0 and during spreaded position eq ual'to The value of the lever arm inthis case willthereforehave been rendered" smaller as compared with its value during normal position of the legs. Between the points 12- and 3 there is The upper end of the front pivoted at the point of rotation. 3' of the ront leg to the frame 2. In consequence turther'means for ri i-dl limitin the me tion of the leg, this means serving only as aprovisionin the event of rupture of one of the springs. This latter means for rig dl'y limiting the. motion of' the leg may be constituted by a bolt, 20, which is mounted' upon the carrier- 2; the-rear leg resting against said bolt in a recess'2l proviiledfon the i ormer, in case ofrupture of one oi the springs, whereby the appliance will be pro.-

tected against further injuries. The eiiecti-ve power of the spring 18 i's very strong, for it will act during sprea-ded position of the legs upon a large lever arm, which is further lengthened during spreadingoi the legs to assume the value f. By this, the decreaseoithe le'ver arm 0 of the spring 9 acting uponthe lever arm' (Z will be more than compensated. To the upper end". Got

the front leg there is pivoteda rod 22-. which is firmly connected with a;.curve dpart 23. While at the upper end oi. the rearleg l or on the frame 2 there: is provided" a: i'oller24, which may freelyrotate upon its axle; The

saddle, which designatedwith thenum'eral rollers 25', rests upon" the rod: or frame 221' 26 heinginterposed between the saddle and the rod. The front. part of the saddle is pivot-allyconnected at the point oithe .front roller 26 with the point of-rota'tion- 5' of the rear leg 4 loy'n'ieans'of a' rod 27.. 'The front roller. 26 being positioned during normal position of the appliance above the point 5,

the saddle, 25 upon lowering 0:15 the rod. 22,

in. addition to" its vertical motion. will be caused to move slightly towards the "front. A downward motion. of. the rod? 22 uigether with its attached curvedpart 23 will cause a strong tension to be exerted upoirthe upper end Got the front leg 1". since the distance between the point '6 and the point 28. at which the curvature of' the part 23 begins,

smaller than'the distance between the point i 6' and the end 29 0i. said curvature. The pressure,wh1cl'1 is exerted in vertical direc .tion upon, the saddle 25,.will be able .toenert .a force for bringing about the spreading the legs which force is far in excess oi the weight of the rider. Connected also with the rod 22. is a rack 30'. which is adapted" to engage a gear 31 provided at the upper end of the front leg. This gear 31 may be coupled in one direction. or rotation with a chain drive 32, 33 and 34, while in the other direction oifrotation a no-load" device (not shown) will other direction of rotation they will be coupled to the latter. This arrangement comprising the rack 30 and the chain-drive 32-34 will have the effect of imparting a rotary motion in the direction of travel to the wheel 36, during spreading of the legs. Connected with the roller 37, which may be driven directly or indirectly by the part 23 or 30, is a string 38, which by interposition of the spring 39 will act upon the tail 40, so that upon forward or reverse motion of this roller, the tail will make upward and downward resilient motion. At the upper end 6 of the front leg there is further provided a tensi-oning or pull-transmitting means 41, which is guided by the neck 44 pivoted to the frame 2 at the point 42 and connected with the front leg by the link 43. This guiding of the tensioning or pull-transmitting means 41 is effected by theroller provided at the point 42 and by a further roller near the head 47. The head 47 is rotatably mounted at the point 48 on the neck 44. 50 are reins which are carried by way of a roller 51 fastened to the bridle, a further roller 52 and a loosely mounted roller 53, towards the point of rotation 3 of the front'leg A pull which is exerted upon both sides of the reins 50 will cause abackward motion of the lower part of the head 47 by means of the roller 51 which is fastened to the bridle. In this manner-a strong pull will be exerted upon the string 41, saidpull causing the front leg 1 to be lifted. During raising the appliance from its spreaded into its normal condition, the spring '18, the spring 9, the pressure exerted upon the stirrup and the pull imposed upon the reins will therefore act in the same sense. The front running wheel 54, the same as the rear running wheel 36, is rotatable in the direc tion. of travel, while it will be locked against motion in the opposite sense. During spreading of the legs the front running wheel is rotated, while the rear running wheel is locked against backward rotation. During transit from spreaded position into normal position, the opposite will be the case, viz, the rear wheel will rotate in a direction towards the front wheel, the front wheel being then locked against backward rotation. Displacing the weight of the body of the rider resting upon the stirrup towards the front part of the appliance, which is done by means of the part 17, will have the effect, that the weight of the body resting upon the stirrupwill impose a greater strain. upon the front leg than upon the rear leg. Inconsequenceof this displacement of the weight the rear leg may be more easily pulled forward. The heavier strain imposed upon the front leg is not of great importance. The fact, that the point of rotation of the front leg is positioned at a lower point, will cause the lever arm by means of which the pressure imposed will come to effect, to be correspondingly smaller than at the rearleg having its point of rotation more at its upper end. Besides, the front leg at this time will be at standstill and for the purpose of increasing the road friction it must be loaded as much as possible. The roller 53 is mounted in a bearing 55, which at one end is connected to a spring 56 and at the other end with the string'5'7. This string 57 is carriedby way of a roller 58 to a steering lever 59 having the form of two circular, segments. The spring 56 is fastened upon the frame2 at the point 60. A one-sided pull exerted upon the reins 50 will therefore have the effect, that the respective segment 59 will tend to rotate in the direction of said pull. The segments 59 are firmly connected with asteering fork 61 carrying the wheel 54 and being rotatable in a bearing 62. The latteris connected to the upper part of a clip 63, which is pivotally mounted at its lower ends 64 upon the legs 1. The points 64 are thuspositioned below the axis of rotation of the running wheel 54 for the purpose of automatically securing a vertical position of the steering fork 61. Rods 66 are pivoted to the clip 63 at the points 65 thereof, said rods at their upper ends being also piv-otally connected to the frame 2 at the points 60. The rods 66 will have the effect, that the steering fork 61 will be positively kept in vertical position during every spreaded position of the legs, also in case of a pull beingexerted uponthe reins; A double-sided pull exerted upon the reins will be compensated by the strings 57 which are of double arrangement, so that in case of a double-sided pull exerted upon the reins 50 there will be no resiliency at the roller 53.

The especial construction for providing a proper bearing surface for the legs at the points of rotationin the frame-2 may be best seen from Fig. 6. The leg 4 is mounted upon the fixed bolt 5 by meansof a hub or hollow axle 67. A flange 68 is screwed onto said hub or hollow axle 67, said flange being connected to a second flange 70 by means of screws 69. The leg is now placed between these flanges and will be firmly held in position by the latter. In a similar manner the bolt 7 is provided witha fixed flange 71 and a loose flange 72, which are connected with each other by the screws 7 3. On the opposite sides of the bolts 5 and llu' sport the combination of two legs adapted to bealt'ernateliy spread. apart and. contracted, one oi? said legs being mounted as 1 double lever, a spring. for contracting said legs, said, spring being associated with means for imparting a. prelin'iinary tension thereto, when in position of rest, a flexible connection between one end of said spring and the upper end of the one of said legs, and a. guiding means around which said connection is carried, said guiding means being adapted to change the direction otsaidcon nection. 1

2.-.I'n an appliance-for practicing riding sport, .the. combination of legs adapted. to be alternately spread apart and contracted, with a spring for contracting. said legs, a flexible connection between said. spring and one of said legs, a roller around which said flexible connection is carried, said connec tion having its. points of action on said one leg positioned, that during spreading oi the legs the lever arm on Which: said spring acts upon the leg will be essentially increased. I

3. Inan appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of two legsadapted to be spread apart and contracted, one of said legs being mounted as double lever, a

spring for contracting said legs, a flexible connection interposed between said spring and the upper end" of theone of said legs, a guldingmeans,around WhlClL said conne vtionris'carried, adapted to change the direction of action of. said c0nn'ection,.said spring having its point of action so disposed with respect to thie leg that during spreading of the legs the lever arm on: which said spring is acting Will be essentiallyincreased 4:. In'anappliance for. practicing riding sport, the combination. ot a front leg, a rear leg-sa d: legs being; adapted to be spread apart and contracted, a stirrup, a spring adapted to. contractrthe said legs and: in the initial-position of. the appliance beingalready tension'edi so as tobe adapted to keep the said legs in non-spreaded condition against the weights" of the appliance and ot the rider as long as the weight otthe ridenis exerted through the medium of said; stirrup upon the appliance, a seat for the rider, and means for spreading the said legs; as soon. as the rider sits down on! the sald seat,

5. In. an appliancefor practicing riding sport according to claim 4, tensioning means adapted to: exert in: the initiat positioni of the appliance an essentially greater tension on the said spring than nee sary forkeeping' said legs in: non-spreading condition against the Weights of the appliance the rider during inoperative condition of said appliance; V 6. In" an appliance for practicing, riding sport according to claim 6%, means tontensioning the said spring and regulating the tension of it. V

7.111 an appliance for practicing riding sport, a first spring, a leg. adapted to be inclined by the weight ofthe rider and to-be returned by means of the said spring, a: stop adapted to-limit the degree or inclination of the log, and? a secondspring being only elifective after a certain inclination oi! the said and; adapted to positively"prevent the said: le from arriving at the said stop while the said springsare intact, e

87 In an appliance for practicing riding sport according to claim 7, two legs-and stops, and a common second spring for preventing the legs from; arriving att-heir respective stops while-the springs are intact.

9. Ini'a-n appliance for practicing riding sport, a first leg mounted as a doublelever, a second! leg: mounted single lever, said legs being adapted to be spread apart and contracted, a spring having tensioningineans associated. therewith for providing a preliminary tension during inoperativecondiition of said spring, a flexibleconnection-in terposed between one end of said spring and the upper endof said firstanention'edleg, a guiding means around which said connection: is carried, and adapted to changesthe direction of action, of said connection jand a secondspring adapted to be tensioned durzing spreading of said legs, both of said springs-being further arranged. so: that the one end otsaid secondspring and the other end of saidlirst spring are positioned below the point of rotation of said second leg, in a manner that the lever arm for the said end of the said second; spring-'will increase in proportion. tothe d'ecrez-iseoi the lever arm for said second end oil said firstspring during spreading of said legs. v

1 0. An appliance for practicing riding sport according. to claiml). having the first spring adapted tohave a dead motion prior to its being tensionedt i 11. Inan a-ppliance for practicing; riding sport according, to claim 4;. a firstotthe said legs being mounted as a double lever, and. a second leg mounted as a single lever, a. flexible connecting member interposed between the one end of said springand the upper end of said first-mentioned leg aguiding means around which saidconnecting member is carried, whereby the direction of action oflsaid connecting member will be changed, and a second spring which in normal position of the appliance is inoperative and which is being tensioned during spreading of said legs, said second spring being fastened with its free end to said second leg at the point of action of said first spring and with its other end in proximity to the point of rotation of said first leg.

12. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg mounted as a double lever, and a rear leg, said legs being adapted to be spread apart and contracted, a movably mounted neck, ahead mounted movably on said neck, a pulltransmitting means inserted between said front legand said head and carried by said neck, a holding means also carried by said neck, and reins having their point of action at the front part of said head, said pull-transmit ting means being so arranged with respect to said head said neck and said front leg, that upon a pull which is exerted on said reins said head will exert by means of said pull-transmitting means a strong pull upon the upper end of said front leg.

7 13. In an appliancefor practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg, a rear leg, said legs being adapted to be spread and contracted, asupport adapted to carry the weight of the rider in seated position, and associated with said legs means adapted to act upon said legs during action of said weight upon said support in a manner that the upper ends of said legswill tend to approach each other. I

14. In an appliance for practicing ridin sport, the combination of two legs adapted to be spread and contracted in alternation, a frame on which said legs are rotatablyvsupported, the one of said-legs being mounted on its upper end as a single lever uponsaid frame, the other of said legs being mounted on said frame as a double lever at a point at some distance from the upper end of said leg, a support for carrying the weight of the rider in seated position, and a device associated with said support, said device being adapted to move the upper end of said other leg towards the point of rotation of said first le durin a ressure exerted u on said I support. q r

15. In an appliancefor practicingriding sport, the combination of two legs adapted to be alternately spread and contracted, frame on' which saidwlegsare rotatably mounted, :one of said legs being mounted as a single lever at its upper endon saidframe and the other of said legs being mounted at a point somewhat distanced from the upper end,that is as a double lever, on said frame, a saddle, a spring adapted to keep said legs in non-spreadedcondition in opposition to the weight of the appliance and the weight-of therider when not resting upon said saddle, and means associated with said saddle, said means being adapted 'to move the upper end of said other leg and being constructed at its rear end in a manner to cause the upper end of said front leg to approach the upper endoof said rear leg during a load which is imposed upon said saddle.

17. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg, a rear leg, said legs being adapted to be spread and contracted in alternation, a saddle, and a member associated with said saddle and rotatably, mounted at the upper'end of said front leg, the rear end of said memberbeing constructed to cause the upper ends of said front and said rear legs to approach each other. y

18. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of two legs adapted to be spread apart and contracted in alternation, a roller connected to the upper end of one of said legs, a saddle, and a member associated withesaid saddle, said member being immovable 'with respect to the upper end of the other of'said legs in longitudinal direction thereof and being constructed at its rear end in a manner that it will cause the upper end of said one leg to approach the upper end of the said other leg by action on the said roller.

19. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of two legs adapted to be spread apart and contracted in alternation, and a member, one end of which is immovably mounted withrespect to the longitudinal direction of one of said legs and the other end of which is so constructed that while the rider sits on the appliance it will approach the upper ends of said legs first with a greater and thereupon with a smallerforce.

20. An appliance for practicing riding sport according to claim 17, having a connecting member interposed between the upper end of the rear leg and the front end of the saddle.

21. An appliance for practicing riding sport according to'claim 17 having a con necting member interposed between the upper end of the rear leg and the front end of the saddle, and rollers interposed between the under side of the saddle and a connect- 6 I ism-ass ing member rotatably mounted at the upper end of the front leg.

. 221m an appliance ir'or practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg, a rear and means'provided'at the upper end of said rear le and adapted to be actuated by said saddle .and to transmit its'motion positively upon said wheel which is provided on the rear leg. A

23. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg, a rear leg, said legs being adapted to be spread apart and contracted in alternation, a running wheel mounted on either of said legs, said ru nning wheels having locking means permitting a rotation oi said wheels in only one direction, a'sadd'le mounted to permit actuation thereof by theweight of the rider when being 'seatedupon said saddle, and meansprovided at the upper end of said rear leg and operable in only one direction when actuated by said saddle, said, means serving fortransmitting the motion upon said saddle" upon said running wheel on said rear leg in the direction of travel. I 24. In an applianceifor practicing riding sport, thecombin'ation of afront leg, a rear leg, saidjlegs being adapted to be spread and contracted in alternation, a running wheel oneither' of said legs which is locked in one direction of rotation and free to rotate in the other direction, a saddle mounted to permit actuation thereof by theweight of the rider when being seated on said saddle, a

rack provided at the upper end of said rear leg, and a gear mounted at the upper end of said rear leg to co-operate with said rack, said rack and said gear being in operative connection with said saddle to be actuated by the motion of the latter and adapted to transmit the motionfrom said saddle to said wheel on said rear leg in the direction of travel. v I

25. An appliance according to claim 2%, having a chaiirwheel drive interposed be tween the gear mounted at the upper end of the rear leg and the wheel mounted on the rear leg, for transmitting the motion from the said gear to said wheel.

26. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg and a rear leg,.said legs being mounted to permit an alternating spreading and contracting thereof, a running wheel mounted at the under part of said legs and resting upon the road, means associated with eitherrunning' wheel for locking the latter in one direction connection with'said saddle for positively a transmitting the motion of the latter to the running wheel on said rear leg in thedirec-t "tion of travel. r

27. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of a front legpivotally mounted at its upper end to constitute a single lever, a rear leg also pivotail ly mounted, said legs thus permitting a spread ing and contracting motionya stirrup, an actuating lever operatively connected with said stirrup and pivoted at .a point which is at an essential distance from the plane of pressure, which may be exerted upon said stirrup by the rider, and positioned essentially at the front end of the appliance, and pull-transmitting means interposed betwee-n said actuating leveland the upperend-of said front leg, said pull-transinitting means serving to transmita pressure exerted upon said stirrup in form of a pull upon said front leg, said pull effecting a tendency of said front leg to move 'it'roin spreaded into normal position.

28. An appliance for practicing riding sport according to claim 27, hav ing the pulltransmitting means arranged in a manner to have its point of action-upon the front leg positioned on the side of the latter which is in opposition to the stirrup. 1

29. In an appliancefor practicing riding in the form of afined bolt connectedwithio no I said carrier for providing a coniiection between the legs, a hubrnounted upon said axle, two flanges fixed upon said hub, a loose flange mounted on either end of said hub, and connecting means interposed between said loose flange and said fixed flange for keeping said leg in position. a

i 31. In an applianceffor practicing riding sport, the combinationof a front-leg mounted in the form of-a doublelevn and a rear leg, said legs permitting alternate spreadingand contracting, a stirrup, a lever operatively connected with said stirrup and pivotally mounted at a point which is essentially at a distance from the plane of action of said stirrup, a flexible pull-transmitting element interposed between said lever and the upper end of said frontleg, and a guiding means around which said flexible element is carried and which is adapted to change the direction of action of said flexible element, said flexible pull-transmitting element being connected tosaid front leg and to said stirrup at such points, that a pressure exerted upon said stirrup will be transmitted spect to said leg at a point which is positioned below the axis of rotation of said wheel.

33. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg, a rear leg, said legs being mounted to permit a spreading and contracting motion, a steerable running wheel mounted on said front leg, a holder for said wheel mounted swingingly around a horizontal axis, a carrier for said legs, and a connection between said holder and said carrier, said connection being adapted to keep the axis around which said wheel may be rotated during steering essentially in a vertical position during a spreading motion of said legs.

8 f. An appliance for practicing riding sport according to claim 33, having a connection between the wheel, the holder and the carrier, said connection being essentially of parallelogram conformation. V g

85. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg, a rear leg, said legs being mounted to permit a spreading and contracting motion, reins, a runningwheel mounted on said front leg, a steering device connected to said running wheel and adapted to steer the latter and a connection between said reins and said steering device for transmitting a pull exerted upon one side of said reins to said steering device.

36. An appliance according to claim 35, having a flexible connection between the reins and the steering device for the running wheel- 37. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combinationof a front leg, a rear leg, said legs being mounted to permit a spreading and contracting motion, reins, a running wheel mounted upon said front leg, a steering device for said running wheel, a flexible pull-transmitting means connected to said steering device, a roller provided at the end of said pull-transmitting means, and a guide for said reins, permitting said roller to run loosely upon said reins.

38. In an appliance for practicing riding sport, the combination of a front leg, a rear leg, said legs being mounted to permit a spreading and contracting motion, reins, a running wheel mounted upon said front leg, a steering device connected to said running wheel, a flexible pull-transmitting means connected with said steering device and adapted to be actuated by said reins, and a spring connected to the end of said pulltransmitting means for keeping said means in condition of tension.

39. In an appliance for practicing riding sport the combinationof a leg pivotally mounted in the form of a double lever, a second leg pivotally mounted in the form of a single lever, said legsthus permitting a spreading and contracting motion, a roller mounted at the upper end of said second leg, and 'a device mounted at the upper end of said first-mentioned leg and operatively connected with said roller, said device being adapted to be actuated by the Weight of the rider when in seated position and further arranged in a manner, that upon imposing a load upon said device the component force 

